James Barr is the co-host of UK’s leading comedy award-winning LGBTQ+ podcast ‘A Gay and a NonGay’, ambassador for Student Pride, MTV presenter and Attitude Magazine columnist. For the first time ever, James will be doing his very own solo stand-up show ‘Thirst Trap’ and it will be a show like no other. James will be counting on the audience to help him find the one. Within 60 minutes, James will tell all from his dating disasters, his disdain for Disney and he’ll be venturing deep in to the psychology of dating apps.
James has interviewed many celebrities from Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Taylor Lautner, Chloe Grace Moretz, Troye Sivan, DNCE and Charli XCX – now it’s our time to interview him! We had the incredible opportunity to talk to James about his upcoming shows and his thoughts on dating.
Hi James! Welcome to CelebMix, we are so excited and honoured to have you on the site! Would you like to introduce yourself to our lovely readers?
Heyaaaa, well I’m James, a TV/radio presenter and co-host of the UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ Podcast ‘A Gay and A NonGay’ … and I’m pretty single and I’m bored AF so I decided to pretend to put on a comedy show, but actually use it find The One.
Your upcoming first ever solo stand-up show ‘Thirst Trap’ begins this Thursday. That must be so exciting – congratulations! What can we expect from your show?
I hope it’s really fun, there’s lots of chat about dating apps and how ‘Thirst’ can seriously affect our mental health. I dive into my dating history and detail some pretty hilarious disasters, it’s really helped me to exercise my demons actually. Oh, and yeah, I also swipe the audience for a date during the show. I haven’t met my husband yet but bring on the fringe.
What has the process been like for setting up ‘Thirst Trap’?
To be totally honest it’s been a truck load of admin! Writing the jokes is hard, but the admin has been even more intense. How am I supposed to fill out a risk assessment when I could get married and divorced in the same show? Ahah.
We’ve heard that you’ll be sharing your dating disasters during the show, but can we get a sneaky peek of one now?
I had a guy try to charge me expenses because he ended up with a speeding ticket on the way to visit me. WTF.
Would you recommend dating apps from your own personal experience with them, or do you have any other ways to meet someone that you prefer such as; in a bar or social events?
I totally prefer IRL. I think dating apps enforce a lie that you’ll meet The One and everything will be great. Whereas actually a lot of the guys will just ghost you. It doesn’t feel like the best way to meet someone, especially as you normally have to wait days before you meet in person by which point you’ve chatted for ages and you’re so invested but then it’s like, oh, you’re hot but boring. That’s why I’m turning my show into a dating app. So I can swipe and date at the same time ;)
How strongly do you think dating apps have an impact on our obsessions of finding that one perfect person with just the swipe of a finger?
Very strongly, and it’s not true. You can’t tell from a pic of someone’s abs that they’re The One. Though I will happily lick them to find out. Sorry, click. I meant click.
Do you believe that there is that ‘one perfect person’?
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhgghghh! I don’t even know. Can we not. I’m triggered. I do believe it yes, and I know they’re out there somewhere. WHERE ARE YOU?.
What is your preference – a night of mingling with other single people like yourself with face to face interactions or a night on the sofa, glass of wine in one hand, dating app in the other?
If you’re suggesting speed dating, no. Haha. The people that go to those seem a bit desperate, whereas my attempt to meet the one by locking an audience in a room is definitely not desperate at all.
We’ve heard that you hate being single, but there must have been some positives to come out of it. Can you give us a couple?
I don’t have to share any chicken nuggets?
For the people who may not have listened to your LGBTQ+ podcast ‘A Gay and a NonGay’ before, can you tell us a little about it?
It started when my friend Talia moved abroad and asked me to look after Dan! Funny name for a dog, I thought, but it turned out Dan was her boyfriend. We recorded it and now 2 years later we’ve won an award for best comedy podcast, and thanks to our wonderful listeners comments I really feel it’s helping to end stigma between gay and NonGay people.
You currently present ‘Hits Party’ every Friday night on Hits Radio. How long has music and radio been a part of your life?
I love it, my show is all about getting people ready for the weekend and it’s amazing to know that I’m creating such a fun party vibe for people across the country.
What is your go-to song to get pumped up for a night out?
ANY LITTLE MIX, especially MOVE or TOUCH.
Lastly, your tour is going to involve a lot of interaction with the crowd. What are you expecting from them to make sure they get the most fun out of your tour?
They just need to have fun and not worry, it’s all very relaxed, inclusive and relatable really, despite the swiping haha.
Thank you so much for joining us today, James! Once again, congratulations on ‘Thirst Trap’ and good luck!
Thirst Trap will be held at the Edinburgh Fringe from August 2nd to August 12th.
You can get your tickets from here.